Tan Sri T C Goh
KOTA KINABALU: The Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) hopes the State Government, through Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), could provide discount for the electricity bills, at least till end of the year, so as to assist the people to better cope with financial difficulty during the ongoing pandemic.
Besides this, its President Tan Sri T C Goh also called on the Federal Government to allocate more funds for Sabah to better fight the pandemic and to boost developments in various sectors.
He urged this while hailing Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor’s announcement of the third edition of Bantuan Sabah Prihatin (BSP) 3.0 totalling more than RM154.83 million in allocation to assist those affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO).
BSP 3.0 is the latest assistance provided by the State Government after the RM238.36 million distributed through BSP 1.0 and BSP 2.0.
Goh also commended the Sabah State Cabinet’s decision of taking a 50% pay cut for two months for all of its Cabinet ministers and assistant ministers, effective this month. Besides this, all the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) assemblymen will also forego 30% of their salary for one month, and following the footsteps of their federal colleagues, state civil servants too will be donating their allowances to the Covid-19 Trust Fund for the purpose of fighting the pandemic.
“Such initiatives should also be extended to include all those appointed by the State Government to helm the state government-linked companies (GLCs),” he said in a statement today.
Goh, who is also President of the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) and President of the Federation of Sabah and Labuan Hokkien Associations (FSLHA), also welcomed and supported the State Government’s move of focusing its assistance on those in the middle and lower income groups, the small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), the hardcore poor and those in the e-Kasih list, the underprivileged group, students of public and private universities, and those businesses adversely affected by the pandemic.
He went on to commend the State Government for being prompt in rolling out its own aid packages to assist those who are in dire need of help during this trying time. They include financial aid for qualified poor students studying at public and private universities to pay for their study loan, besides a host of one-off living allowances for deserving and qualified individuals.
He acknowledged that under such a devastating situation, assistance from the Federal Government alone would not be sufficient in aiding the people. Hence, additional aid from the State Government and private sector is both necessary and crucial.
He also underscored that both the Federal and State Governments must continue to provide necessary aid and support to the people and businesses, if the pandemic persists.
